21 MONTHS: A RECAP

Jeez only three more months and then this girl is a full blown two year old :/ I'm starting to really see her personality and I would say she is very easygoing, she is brave, nurturing, an awesome listener and very social. She's starting to be at that phase where she really wants to do things on her own. I try my hardest not to tell her how she should be doing things and just let her figure it out on her own. 

Her vocabulary right now is insane. Like, if I could say the number one things I hear about her all the time it's "Wow her vocabulary is amazing!". She's talk talk talk all day long and I try to engage her as much as possible and show her new things. As of a few days ago, she's also started holding out her hands and asking to pray before every meal. That right there honestly gets me every time. She says a simple prayer and then we get down to business.

I love that she's super brave and adventurous but she's also a girls girl. She LOVES getting ready, like she runs to her room when it's time and lays down for me so we can put her lotions on and get her outfit. She's totally diggin brushing her teeth too, even though right now her brushing is kind of a wash the fact that I never have to fight her to do it is great.

The thing I'm really trying to teach her right now is independent play. I think as a stay at home mom I can really feel as if it's my job to keep her entertained. So I've had to take a step back and stop being so exciting all the time. It gives her a chance to get bored of me and find something to do on her own. I'm so sad she's almost two, but I keep telling myself that the next stage will be so fun.

FAVORITE FOODS: PB&Jelly, Fruit, Rice

FAVORITE SONG: Uptown  Funk

NEW WORDS: She's saying full sentences now...pretty cute stuff

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: Swimming, playing with her baby

FAVORITE GAME: Tickling

CHORES: Load the laundry, set the dinner table, throw away her diapers, put laundry away, clean up before nap time and bedtime

FIRST TIMES: Big girl bed!

FAVORITE BOOK: Goodnight Moon

SIGNATURE MOVES: Saying she wants something then saying nooooo, somersaults, singing everything, putting on Chapstick all day long

MICHIGAN ESCAPE

We've been back from our vacay to Michigan for almost a week now, but I'm already missing the lake house and my family. I wasn't even nervous at all about all of the traveling and airplanes since we've traveled with Penelope three times now. She's pretty aware by now of flying and that she can't run around and she did great! (I'll post soon about my travel tips for flying with toddlers) Such a fun vacay and a nice break for both of us. 

My Grandma has owned a house right on the Lake Michigan beach since I was little. We would wake up to her drinking coffee and join her for an hour to help with her puzzle. Then we'd head down to the beach and run the dunes. It was pretty surreal to bring my own little family there for the first time. I call it my "happy place". There's no service and so it's nice to get there, disconnect and just enjoy yourselves. 

We also got to stay with my sister and her family for a few days and visit with my Dad and other relatives. My sister threw a party for us and everyone ended up in the backyard playing cards and sinkhole and a bunch of other random games. One of the highlights for sure was getting a date night with the hubby. It's been months, so it was much needed to get some alone time together. So happy we got to end the trip on that note!

Until next time!!

A RETURN FROM HAITUS: 30 DAYS WITH NO CELLPHONE!!

So...I'm pregnant. And just getting past that sloth-like stage where I have to drag my body everywhere and only am able to eat two to four things that exist in the world. I am now five months, with what we found out is another baby girl (yay for sisters!). Now that I've had my good energy and sound emotional state back to normal, I wanted to catch up on the blog among other things.

Today is my first day of a social experiment of sorts. It's an idea I've been toying with for a few months now, but only until last night decided to do. I have no cell phone. And to be honest it was more of I just didn't want one then an experiment really. But I decided that I would be easy on myself and give myself 30 good days to try it out...if I hated it, no harm done.

So rather then write long boring paragraphs smushed together, I love bullet points and here's the main reasons why I decided to get rid of it.

1.  I find it gets in the way of being present. With others, my husband, my daughter, myself.

2.  I don't like being in the middle of something and being interrupted.

3.  I'm not into being available 24/7.

4.  I'm addicted. Like hmmm...I've scrolled through Pinterest, Instagram, Groupon, Favado, etc...now what the hell do I do?

5.  I don't like that 98% of all communication is through text message now. I want to hear and see actual human beings.

6.  I think it'll promote creativity and ideas.

7.  I find myself getting agitated with people around me who want my attention when I'm uselessly scrolling through Pinterest for the 10th time that day.

8. I'm an old soul. I like cooking home cooked meals, hand-written letters, we don't have cable, I want to learn how to bake a good loaf and can some fun stuff. Though I do love the internet, I'm not into the time it can take away. So most tech-related things I'm just not into.

9. Instead of texting or talking...I really should be driving.

Reactions have all been pretty much the same. Mystified, or I get the sense that some people may think I even feel entitled. Because now it's a little harder to get ahold of me when it "should" be that we should all be accessible 24/7. Or I should be available through text. Then there's people who I'm sure think...I'm not going to call a HOUSE phone to get ahold of her. Or some people just think I'm batshit, but try to say it in a much kinder way. And that's fine. I think the only one not really surprised is my husband cause he already knows how I am.

So today we already had our first cellphone inconvenience. We were supposed to meet friends at a park for a playdate and after being there for an hour they didn't come. Of course I thought, if I had my cell I could just text and see what's up. But beyond that no noticeable difference except for more being present with Penelope and myself. I'll update when the month is over!